Asia February 25, 2021 SOUTHEAST ASIA: Vaccination outlook for H1 2021 Asia, Politics vaccines Bob Herrera-Lim Indonesia leads the larger countries in confirmed vaccine supplies, both on absolute terms and as a percentage of its vaccination targets, for the next few months.The rest of the region promises a catch-up but vaccine deliveries in March... Read More...
Asia February 18, 2021 CHINA: Global tech standard-setting is new battleground for techno-nationalism Technology, China, Politics tech, editorial Gabriel Wildau The Chinese government is likely to formally introduce a new industrial policy blueprint, China Standards 2035, this year after three years of planning. China hawks worry that a coordinated, state-led effort to increase China’s influence in global standards-setting bodies will... Read More...
Ant, Asia, editorial January 27, 2021 CHINA: Ant group crackdown unlikely to extend to other private sector firms China, Politics editorial, covid-19 Gabriel Wildau Following the suspension of Ant’s USD 35bn IPO in November, subsequent regulatory actions have clarified the nature of regulators’ concerns about Alibaba/Ant. These actions suggest that the crackdown is primarily a response to specific concerns about a few large internet... Read More...
Asia January 14, 2021 CHINA: New virus outbreak threatens economic recovery and vaccine diplomacy China, Politics covid-19 Gabriel Wildau China is suffering its worst Covid-19 outbreak since July, prompting authorities to re-impose lockdowns in several regions and threatening to derail the recovery of consumer spending. Though authorities are likely to succeed in containing the latest outbreak, in a... Read More...
Asia January 12, 2021 CHINA: Rules to counteract foreign sanctions are mostly symbolic China, Politics Gabriel Wildau New Commerce Ministry rules allow regulators to prohibit the application of foreign sanctions inside China. But Beijing will remain reluctant to scapegoat foreign business in retaliation for government action, given the desire to resist supply-chain decoupling.… Read the... Read More...
Asia February 24, 2021 JAPAN: Suga faces new obstacle as ministry reveals son’s ties with regulators Japan, Politics Suga Tobias Harris On Wednesday, 24 February, Internal Affairs Minister Ryota Takeda announced the results of an internal investigation that found that 13 current and former Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) officials had violated administrative ethics rules.… Read... Read More...
Asia February 22, 2021 JAPAN: Political stakes high as vaccination program begins Japan, Politics Tobias Harris Japan has begun its vaccination program, starting with a limited campaign targeting frontline medical workers. Supply constraints could limit the government’s ability to expand the campaign beyond medical workers in the near term.… Read the rest ... Read More...
Asia February 12, 2021 JAPAN: Mori will resign but controversy will hurt Suga Japan, Politics Mori Tobias Harris Yoshiro Mori, former prime minister and president of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics organizing committee, indicated on Thursday, 11 February, that he would step down amidst a growing backlash to sexist remarks about the role of women in meetings.… <a... Read More...
Asia February 2, 2021 JAPAN: Suga still politically vulnerable as state of emergency extended Japan, Politics covid-19 Tobias Harris On Tuesday, 2 February, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced that he would extend the state of emergency scheduled to end on 7 February by one month, to 7 March. Although case numbers have fallen since the state of emergency... Read More...
Asia January 19, 2021 JAPAN: Suga, under fire as Diet reopens, seeks new powers to combat pandemic Japan, Politics covid-19 Tobias Harris The ordinary session of the Diet opened on Monday, 18 January, as the Suga administration tries to contain the still-widening third wave of Covid-19. His approval ratings plummeting, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is trying to reverse the impression that his... Read More...
